Offsetting - in a nutshell

Offsetting carbon emissions is a topic that gets a lot of attention, so I thought I would provide a quick overview of what offsetting is about and what some of the issues are.

The idea behind offsetting is that if you do something that results in CO2 being put into the atmosphere (taking a flight, for example), you can pay a company to take some action that results in an equal amount of carbon dioxide being either not emitted or being taken out of the atmosphere. In theory, the company's action neutralises your emissions and your flight is carbon neutral.

To give an example, if you take a flight is responsible for emitting one ton of CO2, you could pay a company to plant trees that will take one ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere. Or, the company could invest your money in a source of renewable energy that will be used instead of an energy source that will emit CO2 - hydroelectric instead of coal-fired, for example.

There are a few issues to be aware of with offsetting:

• Your action is still responsible for emitting CO2 - there is a view that it is better to prevent the CO2 from getting into the atmosphere in the first place (by not taking the action) than to try to "get rid" of it later. Prevention could be seen to be better than cure.
• There is no guarantee that paying money to a company will lead to a reduction in CO2. The CO2 is not automatically erased from the atmosphere. Whether there is a reduction in CO2 depends on how effectively the company uses your money.
• Trees grow slowly, require constant management and can release their CO2 if they die or are burnt. In can take up to 30 years for a tree to grow large enough to remove one ton of CO2 from the atmosphere. While this is happening, the ton of CO2 that you emitted is contributing to global warming.
• Some offsetting companies invest your money in projects that develop renewable energy. You would need to be sure that the project will be replacing an existing, greenhouse gas emitting facility. Sometimes, money is invested in renewable energy sources that have to be built anyway - because of government requirements for example.

On the plus side for offsetting, if the emissions are going to happen anyway then investing in a reliable, effective offsetting project is better than doing nothing. The more money that is invested in new renewable energy projects the sooner renewable energy will become cheaper and more widely available.

My own view is that it is better to do what you can to avoid causing the emissions in the first place. If you absolutely can't avoid causing the emissions, then offset them with a reliable offsetting company. Climate Friendly is one of the better Australian offsetting companies.

Finally, check out the Cheat Neutral video for a humorous explanation of why offsetting is often seen as a second-best option.